April 10, 2019: Staying near home, Old Town of Carpentras

We've been here one whole week already! Hard to believe how fast the time goes. The day started as usual with croissants for breakfast. Then we bid a sad farewell to Dan and Paulette whose adventurous spirits made the first weekend even more fun than just what we could think up. We spent the rest of the morning around the house - some laundry, a trip to the store for a wet mop, catching up on blog writing and photos and our first week wine progress photos.

our collection of wines waiting to be drunk

the wines drunk so far - 23 bottles for 7 days

By lunch, Dave was itching to do SOMETHING and proposed a trip to Carpentras to do the walking tour of the old town. So off we went. The lot that was full of market vendors last Thursday was today full of cars, but not so many that we couldn't find a space.

Luckily, we arrived just a couple minutes before 2, which is the magic hour when the Carpentras tourist bureau opened after lunch. Perfect timing, even if Dave was chomping at the bit. We left armed with a map of town and several other regional brochures. The old town is a maze of streets and alleys, much of which is now shopping district.

Our first stop was at the Cathedral of St. Siffrein. In case you're wondering, St. Siffrein was a 6th century bishop of Carpentras, who, tradition holds, was the builder of the first Carpentras cathedral. It was replaced in the 10th century by a Romanesque cathedral, which mostly fell to ruins in the 14th century. Hard to believe that church only lasted 400 years. A new cathedral was built over the old. The bishopric was joined with Avignon in 1801, thus the current gothic church is no longer a cathedral, but simply a church. Nevertheless, the church was very welcoming of any who walked in the door. We were  invited (by signage) to sit and meditate, to pray, to leave our cares behind, to walk with Christ. As well, there was signage posted in strategic places, in French and English, explaining the different parts of the church.

stained glass over the altar

the high altar, stained glass dove is above this altar

Our timing was fortuitous, because as we exited the church, there was a hearse and mourners. Clearly, a funeral was about to happen. We hurried around the side of the church. We soon heard the bells tolling mournfully for the start of the funeral service and again an hour later at the end.

On this side is a door called the Jewish door which, as tradition holds, is the door through which Jews entered to convert to Christianity. We enjoyed the fountain and many gargoyles gracing this portico. (not sure gargoyles can be graceful, but...)

would you call this graceful?

our favorite gargoyle

la porte juive - the Jewish door

gargoyles are not just fantastical animals

The Jewish Synagogue

Moving to the backside of the church and crossing to the Place Hôtel de Ville, we arrived at the Jewish synagogue, the oldest Jewish synagogue in France, dating from 1342.
This rather plain façade belies its importance to the square it faces - at one time this carriera (street) was the only place Jews were allowed to live in Carpentras, basically under house arrest. In the 18th century, over 900 people lived on the carriera, 10% of the city's population. Before the middle ages, Jews in Provence were farmers, business owners, teachers, scientists, doctors. But starting in the 13th century, their freedoms were gradually reduced. They could no longer own property, travel, or work in most professions. They were forced to wear a yellow patch to indicate they were Jewish. Driven out of most of Europe, they were still accepted in the Papal states for theological reasons. Thus, cities like Carpentras developed Jewish ghettos, while at least allowing Jews to live in the city.



Also on this square, one finds the Hôtel de Ville, which was formerly a private mansion, and an unusual fountain.

la fontaine de l'ange (Angel fountain)

Clark, Janis, Dave, Nancy reading about the fountain

Hôtel de Ville looks so typically French

The only evidence of Carpentras' oldest city walls is a road circling the center of the city, but farther out, there is a city gate outside of which plane trees are planted in the former moat. These walls were built after the end of the 100 years war when soldiers who were no longer on army payrolls banded together to pillage cities and towns.

La porte d'Orange - 29 meters high

The Passage Boyer is essentially a glass-covered shopping block built in the 19th century to make an easy connection between Les Halles (the food markets) and the potato market. It is covered with fancifully painted umbrellas - les Parapluies de Carpentras, which makes walking the one block shopping center very cheerful.

Wandering back alleys led us to a street full of art done by an organization called Art et Vie (Art and Life). The alley was full of lively paintings. While we aren't sure what the organization is, we certainly enjoyed their street art.

This "photo" is the class of 2016 of Art & Vie

translation: I love my city

one of the posters of "les poilus"

Another example of street art was a series of small posters, each the drawing of a person with a handwritten biography next to it.

A shopkeeper explained to us that is was the result of an exhibition of drawings of people of the area whom she called "les poilus". That is the name given to French soldiers from WWI who fought in the trenches.

As I read some of the biographies, it was clear they were soldiers, with families. Many died in the war, some lived to the 50s or 60s. These posters were pasted on the pillars of a covered walkway past some shops. I found them very intriguing and wished I could find them all.  We had to be satisfied with just one or two photos to remember this touching use of art to connect people and time.

"les poilus"

Home again with aperos inside due to the chilly wind. A simple dinner, then early to bed. Dave is itching for new adventures tomorrow.